Many riders in Greater Brisbane will be familiar with The Goat Track, Mt Nebo, South Boundary Road and Mt Glorious. There are a number of forest roads and trails that drop from the heights of the range – but commiting to seeing where they go isn’t always attractive, as there’s a chance you may need to push back up!

This route has been listed with a start in Highvale near the base of the Goat Track west of Samford, but could easily be started from Mt Nebo Village, or Dundas Road Carpark, which is just past the village. You could even ride up from the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail along Banks Creek Road!

The route has steep sections that don’t receive the same maintenance as routes like South Boundary Road. So while it is categorised as both a gravel ride and a mountain bike ride – it is an advanced gravel ride, and an intermediate mountain bike ride.

Riding the route

From the park opposite the end of Ryder Road in Highvale, head towards the Goat Track and ascend. This is still the easiest way up the range if you’re coming from this side, and the one way traffic is a delight. At the top, turn left to loop towards Forestry Road and over Hammermesiter road, before dropping back to Mt Nebo Road and to Dundas Carpark.

Go through the tiny tip to gain Dundas Road, and ride out on high quality firetrail to Dundas Bush Camp. The trail to the left is Cabbage Tree Road, in the middle leads to Whoa Boy, and to the right is Goodes Road. Today – we’re going straight on.

This route is frequented by trail bikes (no, they’re not meant to be there) and so you’ll typically have one very clear line to ride. It’s an undulating descent, and at the first turn option go left, as the right heads to private property. The descent gets a little steeper, and after the next plateau and small climb it descends steeply to the right.

With multiple water bars, you’ll know why it’s called ‘Whoa Boy’! This section can be very loose in the dry, and eroded after storms. Descend within your ability as it is easy to overcook corners or take a tumble on the steep sections. If in doubt – walk! But this is why it’s an advanced gravel ride, and really only suited to experienced bike riders. On a mountain bike it still deserves due respect, mostly around conditions.

This is an extended descent and finishes in a small clearing. To the right is a path to Banks Creek Road, Fernvale, the BVRT and even Crows Nest if you’re keen. To the left crosses a creek and heads up a steep 4WD climb. There are a couple of steeper pinches! At the top turn left. The right hander ends up on private property. The left follows an old fenceline, up, down, around a sharp right and then a sharp left into a regrowth rainforest gully.

Scythe through here through a tunnel of canopy and ascent the next short but steep climb. Send us a message if you clean it! This is a cross roads but go straight over. Left is a motorbike line to Cabbage Tree Road, right – not sure.

It’s a steep descent with waterbars, and can easily be eroded at the bottom. Proceed with caution – this is Burnt Yard Break. It’s a lot of fun! It does cross the creek and will have wash outs after storms. But, the fairly regular motorbike traffic does provide a very nice informal singletrack line to ride, which takes you to Branch Creek Road. It’s very flat down here – but with just about zero phone reception. Best to ride with a partner and carry some first aid essentials. You can see wild pigs, feral deer, snakes, wallabies – and lots of great native birds.

Turn left onto Branch Creek Road. If you carried downstream you’d head towards Lake Manchester. The route crosses the creek a few times (avoid after rain) and ends up at another junction. Left is Cabbage Tree Road, to return to Dundas Carpark via about 1 hour of climbing. Straight heads up the back of Mt Nebo village, but we’ll turn right to climb Job 6 and the top of Lightline Road.

It’s not an easy climb, but makes a nicer loop than doing Cabbage Tree. It is steep and extended, but all rideable by a rider with good condition. Turn left to keep climbing Lightline Road once you join it, and then through the back of Mt Nebo once at the top, and back over Hammermeister again. At this point, follow Mt Nebo Road until the right hand junction to descend down Mt Glorious. This is a very steep road descent – ride with due care and have some lights on for visibility. It has some swimming holes on the left, and will take you right back to Highvale.

In the north-west of Brisbane there are plenty of adventures to be had by bike. This loop suits a gravel bike for those with a wide gear range, or a mountain bike. It is not too long but given the demands of the opening climb it deserves respect – and a very early start if tackled in the hotter months. This route was covered in more detail by Cyclist Magazine several years ago.

The route starts and finishes in Dayboro, where there is parking opposite the bakery, along with water, toilets and a parking area. There’s also a small supermarket and a myriad of cafes to enjoy post ride. Make sure you take enough water – there are no options to refill on the route. This also means you need to be self-sufficient for food and spares and injuries. So be prepared accordingly.

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The ride follows Laceys Creek Road until it becomes Range Road near Raynbird Creek. The climb up the range has been regraded in the middle of 2025, but conditions may deteriorate after storms. The climb is steep and gets the sun early. The top third has more shade and once it levels off, you do swap sides of the ridge as you do a near hairpin.

You’ll enjoy expansive views to your left, including glimpses of remnant rainforest – a sign of things to come. The road is open to 4WDs and motorbikes (or any vehicle choosing to go there) so be mindful of oncoming traffic. It does get quite rough as you approach Kluvers Lookout, which looks down on Laceys Creek Road, where you have come from. This is your high point for the day – physically and hopefully in other ways as well.

The descent from Kluvers can be rough on a gravel bike, so due caution is advised. From here the gradients are mostly more civil, but you cannot escape the feeling that you are riding along a bread knife. One you go up, it is time to go down again so you can go up again.

There are a number of spur trails, some for horses, some that head to Mt Mee – but stay on the ridgeline and on Range Road. When you reach a T intersection, take the right hand turn onto Chambers Road and down to Mt Pleasant. Turning left would take you to Mt Mee (eventually!)

Once on Mt Pleasant Road you are back on sealed road, which takes you all the way back to Dayboro. There are numerous small climbs, but overall it is a pretty valley road. Enjoy your time refuelling back in Dayboro!

There are nearly endless different rides we can do. Rides that take us to new places, unique vistas and places of interest. The difficulty can be getting to the start of new rides, as working within a rideable distance from home can limit your route options. And that is exactly why Queensland’s 50c fares on public transport are such a good thing – not just for multi-modal transport where the network allows – but for recreation as well.

The BQ team are loathe to load a bike into a car for a bike ride, but jumping onto the Ferny Grove line for this gravel adventure was appealing. This ride is close to 75km and in general it is a mix of back roads, rail trails, shared paths and a few roads. There is a section of dirt road and also a forest road section that can be quite steep. From Goodes Road down Whoa Boy to Banks Creek Road has multiple steep pitches with a combined descent of around 600m. Due to this section, consider this an advanced gravel ride, or moderate mountain bike ride.

THE RIDE

This ride starts at Ferny Grove station, head onto Lanita Road and the Ferny Grove to Samford Rail Trail link. This is a very gradual climb that becomes shared path, taking you to Camp Mountain and onto McLean Road South, where the memorial for the Camp Mountain Rail disaster is. 16 people lost their lives here on 5 May 1947.

Follow the route through to Samford via Camp Mountain Road and Cash Avenue. We stopped at Long Yard Larder for coffee, and the park across the road has water, toilets and even bike tools and a pump!

From Samford you need to get to the Goat Track, a one way mostly dirt road that climbs the D’Aguilar range. We took some of the pony trails along the South Pine River. These form a network across the Samford Valley, connecting lots of roads and parks. They are multi-use so be mindful of horses, walkers or dogs off lead. We took Mt O’Reilly Road past the Samford Showgrounds and to the base of the Goat Track, which is open again after extensive repairs.

With a 20kmh speed limit, the consistent gradient makes this one of the best climbs across the whole D’Aguilar Range. Turn right at the top onto Nebo-Mt Glorious Road, and continue up to the Goodes Road tip. It’s time to go off-road. Through the tall forest the trail is wide and easy to follow – at Dundas Road Bush Camp you may fill your bottles, but treat the water. Take the path straight ahead – this is still Dundas Road.

The trail descends with some steeper sections, rising again to follow the ridgeline. At the next intersection stay left – to the right gains private property. The descent will mostly have one good line, and still has a series of rises, until it tips off to the right and you’re on Whoa Boy. This section is known for the water bars and demands full attention. For an experienced mountain biker it will be a lot of fun. An experienced gravel rider will enjoy the challenge. A loaded bikepacker may find it a nightmare. This is the most difficult section based on the pitch, so if you’d rather walk – walk. It’s only a few sections that are a couple of hundred meters long. Mostly it’s a lot of fun!

At the very bottom you end up in a clearing – frequently it is over grown but turn right. If you end in a creek, turn back! You’ve gone too far. The trail carries on through a couple of creek crossings to a forest entry gate with a horse step over. You have arrived in Banks Creek.

Stick to the well-formed gravel road and pedal on towards Fernvale! There is one rise but the route opens up a lot more with views back to the range and beyond into the Brisbane River Valley. While it’s a very quiet area do be aware of oncoming vehicles and stick left. Follow the signs to Fernvale, across the river and into town – we stopped at the new Splityard Social café, but were too early for hot chips… the coffees and sausage rolls were still welcomed.

From here you follow the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail towards Wulkuraka. The Brassal Bikeway leads you from the trail head to the station, and you can even use it to get to Ipswich station instead if you’d rather skip the train change.

How to Get There

Ferny Grove is at the end of the Ferny Grove line. Use the Translink website to plan your route – and check line closures, the extra ride back to Brisbane might not be appreciated by your ride buddies if you don’t…

When to go

We rode the route in early August. March through to November will likely be great. Avoid the route after extended wet weather, and avoid the peak of summer given the length of the ride.

Eating and drinking

Samford Village has a number of choices, as does Fernvale. But stock up for the gap in-between.